What's it all about? “It Came from Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World” is an amusing, touching, anecdote-filled, and colorfully illustrated social history of Berkeley that shows how so much of what makes America great got its start, or at least a kick in the pants, in the often-maligned city of Berkeley. This book suggests that, rather than existing outside of America, Berkeley exists at its heart. From its early years, Berkeley has pioneered much of what is best about America. Berkeley pioneered public university education, temperance as a force for families, and the spiritual in art. Throughout its history, Berkeley’s leading thinkers have defined the good life not as a life of wealth but a life devoted to the arts and the betterment of their fellow men and women. Berkeley pioneered humane crime-fighting, decried corporal punishment of children in the 1910s, helped create national parks and helped invent the concept of regional open space by taking part in the creation of the East Bay Regional Park District. During the 1960s, when the world at large woke up to Berkeley’s influence, young people associated with the university defined free speech as a cause, and helped give America a true counter-culture. Berkeley’s creation of California cuisine a few years later only emphasizes what Berkeley has always been about – a sophisticated, knowing version of the good life. |
Dave Weinstein Author of "It Came from Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World," Gibbs Smith, 2008, hardcover, 224 pages, more than 100 photos. $24.99 US dollars. Contact the author: 155 Ashbury Avenue El Cerrito, CA, 94530 davidsweinstein@yahoo.com Dave Weinstein, author of the new book “It Came from Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World,” also wrote “Signature Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area,” (Gibbs Smith) and the text for “Berkeley Rocks: Building with Nature,” (10 Speed Press) which features photos by Jonathan Chester. Dave also writes a popular series about Bay Area architects for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Home & Garden section, and writes about modern architecture for CA Modern magazine, published by the Eichler Network. A longtime Bay Area journalist, Dave was a reporter and editor at the Contra Costa Times. A resident of El Cerrito for almost 30 years, Dave initiated the successful effort to preserve El Cerrito’s long abandoned Art Deco movie palace, the Cerrito Theater, and is chairman of the Friends of the Cerrito Theater. To buy "It Came from Berkeley," click here for a list of our favorite neighborhood stores! |
It Came from Berkeley How Berkeley Changed the World |
Dave Weinstein Author, preservationist, historian |
Good news, Berkeley history fans! "It Came from Berkeley" is available now in your favorite stores (yes, and through online merchants too). So, do not delay. As one reader just announced, the book is "tons of fun!" |
Read some sample chapters!! |